India's Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) Contracts Civolution and Mediametrie For New Best-In-Class Audience Measurement System

Precise new measuring system enables Indian broadcasters and brands to collect high-quality TV viewing data to better monetize consumer relationships

February 25, 2014 --

MUMBAI, India, Feb. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --Civolution, the leading provider of technology and solutions for identifying, managing and monetizing content, today announced that the Indian Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has contracted it to provide its watermarking technology to underpin one of the world's largest audience measurement platforms. This comes shortly after BARC chose the TV meter system of Mediametrie, the audience measurement and survey company for television, radio, cinema and the internet. The two companies will build the technology framework for audience measurement solution for BARC.

BARC addresses a population of over 1 billion, of which over 600 million have access to television in some form. This will be the first fully digital audience measurement system employed directly by the Indian broadcast industry and is scheduled to commence operations towards the end of this year.

The audience measurement system - which has already successfully been deployed by Mediametrie in multiple TV markets - relies on Civolution's audio watermarking coding technology for automated content identification and integrates seamlessly into Mediametrie's TV meter system for panellists' equipment and panellists' data processing. It provides broadcasters with a detailed analysis of their exposure to the public, whether by the number of households tuning in to the programme or the amount of time spent watching each piece of content.

"India has one of the largest TV audiences in the world so it was critical for us to create an audience measurement system that is gold standard," said Partho Dasgupta, CEO, BARC. "By leveraging Civolution and Mediametrie's expertise in audience tracking, technology and analytics we can now study viewers' TV habits in precise detail, enabling broadcasters and advertisers to implement efficient strategies to reach their target audience."

Civolution's audio watermark is embedded in the TV's sound track prior to broadcast. Upon airing, the content is then identified by Mediametrie's TV meter, in real-time. In addition to granular measurement of the content being watched, the solution features support for catch-up TV. Thetechnology provides cross-platform audience measurement and will enable mobile device measurement, triggering the creation of new services and the reduction of operating costs. In parallel, the same watermark infrastructure deployed by Indian broadcasters could be used to synchronize with great accuracy their own interactive second screen applications.

''With so many new ways of watching TV content in this multi-screen universe, precise audience measurement has become increasingly complex. Audience measurement services must now report more accurately and reliably, from a larger number of channels, delivered through a fast-changing and diverse mix of broadcast platforms, and consumed either in real time or time-shifted'' said Alex Terpstra, CEO, Civolution.

''Through our close collaboration with Mediametrie, we have devised a powerful solution that provides accurate and reliable audience data that will allow BARC to help broadcasters plan, entertain and monetize their TV audiences,'' added Jean Michel Masson, SVP Watermarking Solutions, Civolution.

Benoit Cassaigne, Director of Audiences Measurement at Mediametrie added: ''We are very enthusiastic to embark on this project with Civolution and its watermarking technology, which is definitely the most powerful and error-free content detection technique available for TV audience measurement. This means we are future-proofed in the fast-changing world of TV. Mediametrie has relied on Civolution's technology for many years".

About BARC

BARC was set up in India in 2012 with the specific purpose of designing, commissioning, supervising and owning India's Television Audience Measurement System. BARC is promoted by three apex Joint Industry Bodies - Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) and Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), representing the three key stakeholders in Television Audience Measurement - Broadcasters, Advertisers and Advertising & Media Agencies respectively. The three way alliance will ensure that the sizable resources - financial as well as intellectual, required to undertake such a massive, continuously running initiative are made available within a robust, transparent and accountable governance framework. Stakeholders, in India and around the world, would enjoy uninterrupted access to comprehensive, accurate, reliable and timely television audience measures.

BARC (http://www.barcindia.co.in/) brings together the three key stakeholders in Television Audience Measurement, Broadcasters, Advertisers and Advertising & Media Agencies. Their respective apex bodies, theIndian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), theIndian Society of Advertisers (ISA)and the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), represent the three industries. The three way alliance will ensure that the sizable resources - financial as well as intellectual, required to mount such a massive, continuously running initiative are made available within a robust, transparent and accountable governance framework. Stakeholders, in India and around the world, would enjoy uninterrupted access to comprehensive, accurate, reliable and timely television audience measures.

About Civolution

Civolution (www.civolution.com) is the leading provider of technology and solutions to identify, manage and monetize media content. The company offers an extensive portfolio of cutting edge digital watermarking and fingerprinting based applications for media interaction (accurate and real-time video synchronization for 2nd screen and smart TVs), media intelligence (audience measurement and media monitoring for television, radio and internet) and media protection (content filtering and forensic marking of media assets in pre-release, digital cinema, payTV and online). Follow us on Twitter: @Civolution.

About Mediametrie

The industry leader in media research, Mediametrie observes, measures and analyses audience behaviour and market trends. Created in 1985, Mediametrie is expanding its activities in television, radio, the internet, film, mobile phones, and the cross-media sector in France and abroad. In 2012, Mediametrie realized a turnover of 73.1 M.